Mechanism for removing stacked articles from a chamber



APP!I I8, 1950 J. E. UNDERWOOD 2,504,236 MECHANISM FOR REMOVING STACKED ARTICLES FROM CHAMBERS Original Filed April 12, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVEN TOR.

Jim) [fin/1014mm! BY April 18, 1950 J. E. UNDERWOOD 2,504,235

MECHANISM FOR REMOVING STACKED ARTICLES FROM CHAMBERS Original Filed April .12, 1943 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Ill/ 11m IN VEN TOR.

BY James K. Vailvwmd J. E. UNDERWOOD 2,504,236 MECHANISM FOR REMOVING STACKED ARTICLES FROM CHAMBERS April 18, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Original Filed April 12, 194

IILII-JIIII HTTUANEY Patented Apr. 18, 1950 MECHANISM FOR REMOVING srAoKnn ARTICLES FROM A CHAMBER James E. Underwood, Oakmont, Pa., assignor to Aluminum Company of America, Pittsburgh,

Pa, a corporation of Pennsylvania Application May 20, 1944, Serial No. 536,490, which is a division of application Serial No. 482,739, April 12, 1943. Divided and this appli cation February 17, 1945, Serial No. 578,480

4 Claims. 1

. This invention relates to improvements in ma chines of the class adapted to assemble a disc. wafer, washer or other shape made of relatively thin or pliable material with a receiving member. The invention forming the subject matter of the present application is directed specifically to the problems attendant upon accurate and rapid delivery of cup like or tubular articles properly oriented for assembly of other articles therewith, this subject matter having been divided from my copending application Serial No. 536,490, filed May 20, i944, and now abandoned, which latter application is, in turn. a division of my copending application Serial .No. 482,739, filed April 12, 1943, now United States Patent No. 2,405,074 issued July 30, 19416.

Machines which are the general subject of my original application are those which will operate continuously at high speed to perform an assembling operation; which will accurately and positively handle thin, wafer-like parts; which will accurately and positively handle relatively heavier parts of different or the same shape; which will maintain a constant flow to the point of assembly of the parts to be assembled; which will bring all parts to the point of assembly in proper position and will there accurately position the parts with respect to each other; which will perform operations on the assembly to unite or otherwise permanently establish the assembled relationship. The general object of this invent cn is the p ovision in such a machine of an improved artiolejhandlme system adapted to or sent :to a work station a flow of cup-like .or tubular arti les established d maintained in a predetennined oriented pos t o ,1

Fig. 1 is a side view of a machine illustrating one type of m hine wh ch the improved mechanism of this invention :may be embodied.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken through ,a-portion of a handling and feedi g mechanism embodying ;the-' principles of this invention, said handling and feeding mechanism being general.- ly designated in Fig. l as 26, 21.

.F-ig. 3 is a vertical sectional view taken at line 3?;3 as indicated on Fig. 2,.

,Fig. 4 is a view taken as indicated on section line 4W4 shown in -Fig. 1, the View Showing :the assembly 2! in cross section and the assembly 110 n t p plan view.

Flig. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the part shown in Fig. 4 taken at line :5-5 indicated on Fig. 4 and also including, .to the 'left thereof, .a. portional cross sectional view through the part generally designated as 28 Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a view of the lower portion ofthe handling and feeding mechanism taken asindlcatedby linesfi-Ai-onFig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a further sectional view of aportion of the elements shown in Fig. 5 illustrating one position of said elements during their cooperating movement.

Fig. :8 is across section through a detonator cup such as may be subjected to the handling operation herein specifically described.

The general organization of the machine is best shown by Fig. -1. "The machine is carried by a frame most parts of which are generally indicated .by the numeral 2!. Mounted on this frame is the article handling system consisting of a hopper 23 mounted on post '22-, a transfer tube 24, .a turning mechanism 26, a chute mechanism 21, and a transfer slide .assembly 30. A work translating :means such as turret 28, actuated by :Geneva drive .29, is adapted to receive work at turret station A and zto'presentit to various assembly operations at stations B and C. :A foil supply and feed system includes supply reel 31 from which the foil 32 travels over rollers '32, 34 and 35 through foil feed mechanism 36 over roller 25 to rewind reel 1351. Mounted above turret 28 at station B is the die and punchassembly 3,8. Mounted .at station C is the hotpunch assembly .39. Leading from the bottom position of the turret are transfer tubesdfl whichdeliver finished assemblies from that station to inspection unit 4|, which preferably is of a type in which-adefective assembly will admit air to destroy a vacuum to render article removing means ineffective so that proper and defective assemblies may be removed from the unit at different points.

The detailed operation of the machine shown in "Fig. 1 and the driving elements by which its parts are suitably coordinated are described in detail in the aforesaid United States Patent No. 2,405,074 and are not further mentioned here except to the extent necessary to specifically illustrate the operation and utility of the im-.- proved handling and feeding mechanism to which this present invention is directed. In-amplifica-' tion of what has zbeenrstated above it may, however, be noted that articles delivered through the handling and feeding system genera-11y designoted at .23, :24, 26 and :2! are .delivered by a transfer mechanism 23:0 to position A in the turret 28 and upon continued operation of the ma-. chine are indexed to position B where a thin wafer is out from foi1.32 and assembled with the article by reason of .the actionlof .die and punch assembly :38. 'f'lclemnitter the assembled article In operation of machines of the type to which I this invention generally relates and which is illustrated by the machine shown in Fig. 1 it is necessary that the articles which are to bev handled must be selected and oriented froma large mass of such articles and thereafter delivered in a constant fiow to the work operation,

in the illustrated case to the work translating turret 28 at station A. The first step in the process of delivery of these articles is to assemble a mass of the same in a device such as the hopper 23, which device may cntain any selecting mechanism as may be suitable, such as that shown in United States Patent No. 1,232,893 to E. R. Candee, which will select single articles from an-unoriented mass thereof, orient the articles and start them in continued flow in oriented position. In the device shown the single articles so oriented are fed from the hopper into transfer tube 24.and thence to a turningmechanism Thus, oriented detonator cups entering transfer tube 24 fall therethrough by gravity, their partially closed ends forward, to the fioor of the turning mechanism 26, the details of which are best shown at Figs. 2 and 3. The turning mechanism, positioned between the hopper 23 and chute mechanism 21, provides for feeding the endwisefalling detonator cups into transfer slot I5 in a sidewise position." For that purpose the turning mechanism consists of a wheel I6 fixed upon a shaft II which is rotated by means of pulley 82 fixed on the end thereof. Carried by wheel I6 are fingers I8 which are yieldingly, but firmly, held by springs I9 against the fioor 84 of the circular chamber. The housing plates 05- are cut to form a slot I5 leading from its aperture in the fioor of the transfer chamber to the multiple chute chamber 86. The detonator cups, having been oriented in the hopper 23 and delivered to transfer tube 24 in oriented position with their closed ends forward, pass through that tube in end to-end position, the shape and size of the tube 24 being such. as to maintain an end-to-end flow. They are'thus singly delivered to the fioor 84 of the transfer chamber where the housing plate 85 provides an abutment to limit the forward motion of each cup as it frees itself of the transfer tube 24 and thus, leave the cup on the fioor at the position X indicated in Fig. 2. In this'position the cup lies across the travel of members I8 each of which has an end portion shaped to-receive the cup. The outlet from the chamber to passage I5 affords means positioned in the pathof travel of the fingers 18 to receive and remove the cups from the chamber as they are swept across the floor by said fingers, and said passage I5 and chamber 80 are so proportioned as to maintain the cups in the side-byside relationship I established by their fiow through this aperture.v Thus, the end-to-end flow of the cupsioriginally established in tube 24 is'terminated and the flow reestablished in sidethe chamber 86 from where they pass into the cup. feeding slots, the lower cup in each slot lying in the terminus position 88. Fingers 87 are carried upon cross bar 89 while the fingers 81' are carried, upon cross bar 89. These cross bars are mounted on housing plate 85 for vertical movement with respect thereto, and the end of each cross bar is provided with a roller 90. The cross bars are held together in normal position through the medium of spring loaded bolts 9I. The cross bar rollers 90 are so arranged that a wedge or pin, such as agitator pin 92, forced between said rollers, will separate the cross bars against the action of the springs on bolts 9| thus moving fingers -81 apart from fingers 81. and imparting movement to the mass of cups lying in the chamber 86, which movement facilitates passage of the cups into the cup-feeding slots. The cups, lying the bottom of the cup-feeding slots in position to be fed to the turret mechanism, present their closed ends I2 toward the turret 28 at turret position 'A, this orientation of the cups having been achieved by the turning means above described, which, while changing the downward travel of the cup from an endwise fall to a sidewise fall, does not disturb the relative end-to-end position of the cup originally established on delivery to transfer tube '24.

The turret 28 has positioned on its periphery a number of cup-receiving chucks 93 in each of which are provided the cup-receiving apertures 94 (as best shown in Fig. 7). When a chuck 93 is presented at turret station A these apertures have the same axes as the termini 88 of the cup slots which lie at the bottom of the chamber 86;

Cups are periodically transferred from their position at termini 88 to the apertures 94 of a turret chuck 93 by the transfer slide assembly 30.

Transfer assembly'30, shown at Figs. 1 and '7,

but best shown at Figs. 4 and 5, consists of a car riage 95 mounted on frame 2| forperiodic translation toward and away from turret station A; Rods 96 corresponding in axial position and num: her to cup chute termini 88 and to turret chuck apertures 94 are mounted in said carriage. Each such rod consists of a'forwardly extended portion and a rearwardly extending portion and ofa slide bearing portion '91 which latter is positioned in rod chamber 98 and normally held at one end thereof by springs 99. Mounted on the carriage is bracket I00 which carries the agitator pins 92 transfer slide carriage 95 by means of brackets I02 and pin I03 is the pivoted arm I04 which is normally positioned, by action of spring I05 as shown in Fig. 5, to place its downwardly extending portion I08 directly behind the rearward ends of the pins 96. Mounted separately of the assem- 5 bly 30 and on fixed bracket I0! is switch H18 which carries switch arm 109 on switch shaft H0. Switch arm roller IN is adapted to bevcontacted by the surface l [2 of the arm 104 when it is raised against the action of the spring I05.

In its normal cycle, the transfer slide assembly 3|] going forward from the position shown at Fig. 5 to the position shown at Fig. 7 brings its rods 96 through apertures in the chute housing into the cup-s Ill which lie in termini 88. Under continued forward motion the rods contact the semi-closed ends l2 of said cups and carry the cups through apertures l4! into the cup-receiving apertures 94 of that chuck 93 which is, at that moment, positioned at turret station A. Simultaneously the agitator pins 92 passing through the apertures l H3 in the multiple chute housing 85 contact and pass between the rollers 90 thus causing relative movement of fingers 81 and 87, as above described, and facilitating movement of the cups into the cup slots therebetween. At the end of this operation the transfer slide assembly is again returned by linkage 72 to its original starting position from where the cycle is again repeated as the next chuck 93 is indexed at turret station A. If a cup lying in a cup chute terminus 88 is bent or otherwise damaged or is wrongly positioned so as to prevent the free passage thereinto of a transfer rod 96, the rod yields backwardly against the action of spring 99 until its rearward portion contacts the downwardly extending portion I06 of the arm H14 thus raising the arm into contact with the roller of the switch arm I09 and tripping the switch I08 to stop the machine and allow removal of the oirending cup.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the invention therein described and hereafter claimed may be embodied in machines and methods for performing assembly operations other than those specifically shown and described, and that the construction of the various parts may be varied without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In an article handling mechanism, a chamber for receiving articles, means located in the lower portion of said chamber to divide the same into a number of article receiving passageways each terminating at a predetermined point, said dividing means comprising a plurality of dividers at least some of which are mounted for movement parallel to said passageways and a device adapted to periodically remove articles positioned in the terminals of said passageways, said device including means adapted to impart the said movement to the dividers during the removal operation 2. In an article handling mechanism, a chamber for receiving articles, means located in the lower portion of said chamber to divide the same into a number of article receiving passageways, each terminating at a predetermined point, said dividing means comprising a plurality of dividers, at least some of which are mounted for longitudinal movement parallel to said passageways, each divider being carried on one of several cross bars, the ends of each cross bar being provided with rollers, said cross bars being held in close parallel relationship by spring means, agitator pins mounted on means to periodically pass said agitator pins between the rollers oi said cross bars and a device adapted to periodically remove articles seated at the terminals of each passageway.

3. In an article handling mechanism, a chamber for receiving articles, means located in the lower portion of said chamber to divide the same into a number of article receiving passageways, each terminating at a predetermined point, said dividing means comprising a plurality of dividers, at least some of which are fixedly mounted on means yieldingly held in a normal position, a device adapted for periodic movement to remove articles seated at the terminal of each passageway and means operable during the movement of said device to momentarily displace said movable means out of original position, whereby the dividers fixed to said movable means are momentarily displaced from normal position in a direction :parallel to said passageways.

4. In an article handling mechanism, a chamber for receiving articles, means located in the lower portion of said chamber to divide the same into a number of article receiving passageways,

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 989,778 Hammitt et a1 Apr. 18, 1911 2,287,823 Pearson June 30, 1942 2,320,465 Pilcher June 1, 1943 2,358,240 Milmoe et al. Sept. 12, 1944 2,371,140 Ailing et a1 Mar. 13, 1945 

